Based on the lastest quarterly filings, institutions continue to be large stakeholders in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX). The big banks are holding 94.10% of the shares while company insiders are clinging to 1.30%. Shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. are currently valued at $118.75 with a furture target price of $120.60 according to research brokerages.

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)’s stock has been a favorite of “smart money” aka institutions, as of late. Institutions are currently holders of 94.10% of the shares. On the other hand, company insiders are holding 1.30%. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.’s stock price currently sits at $118.75.

Institutional portfolio managers can perform a more intense in-depth analyses than the average investor because of the vast resources at their disposal. They have access to teams of researchers and data that the average investor doesn’t have. It doesn’t guarantee that they’ll make money on the stock, however, but it greatly enhances the chance that they will turn a profit. Institutions then attempt to boost interest in the stock and share price by touting the company’s merits to the sell side after they establish a position in the stock. You will see these professionals, top-notch hedge fund and portfolio managers pushing these stocks on TV, radio and conferences. As such, institutional turnover in stocks is very low, because they invested a tremendous amount of time, money and other recourses to research a company and make an investment in it. It’s important for individual investors to understand that there are times when institutions and management teams work together to build common shareholder value.

Unfortunately, individual portfolio managers are evaluated on their performance every quarter, due to the growing trend to benchmark funds against major market indexes such as the S&P 500. This evaluation process is unfortunate because if a portfolio manager is having a down quarter, he or she will drop underperforming stocks and buy into shares with trending momentum in hopes of achieving stability with the top indexes in the subsequent quarter. This all usually leads to increased trading costs, increased taxes and the probability that the fund is selling off shares at an inopportune time.

Hedge funds are infamous for putting quarterly demands on their managers. The pressure on these managers can lead to massive volatility in stocks and can hurt the individual investor who happens to be on the other side of a given trade.

Beware, though, because institutional investors can own a huge amount of shares, when an institution sells, the stock will sell off, impacting individual shareholders.

Recent Performance

Let’s take a look at how the stock has been performing recently. Over the past twelve months, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)’s stock was 62.56%. Over the last week of the month, it was 8.45%, 7.10% over the last quarter, and 31.39% for the past six months.

Over the past 50 days, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. stock was -0.93% off of the high and 15.91% removed from the low. Their 52-Week High and Low are noted here. -0.93% (High), 87.07%, (Low).

Technical Analysis

Technical analysts have little regard for the value of a company. They use historic price data to observe stock price patterns to predict the direction of that price going forward. Analysts use common formulas and ratios to accomplish this.

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) is 71.10. RSI is a technical indicator of price momentum, comparing the size of recent gains to the size of recent losses and establishes oversold and overbought positions.

Another important element to consider is the price target and recommendations from brokerage firm analysts. On a consensus basis the Street sees the stock heading to 120.60 in the near term. Based on a 1 to 5 integer scale, analysts have a 2.30 recommendation on the name.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and information expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any company stakeholders, financial professionals, or analysts. Examples of analysis performed within this article are only examples. They should not be utilized to make stock portfolio or financial decisions as they are based only on limited and open source information. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of any analysts or financial professionals.